A robot that explores an island, braves the elements, and parents a gosling? Most of that is a long way off, according to computer scientist Lerrel Pinto, who says today's robots are more like a Roomba than The Wild Robot protagonist Roz. Pinto's lab at NYU Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences is working toward machine learning and decision-making capabilities that could make the interactive, adaptable robots of sci-fi possible in the future—and he says roboticists really do take inspirati